The November 2009 issue of Environment & Climate News reports on a vote by the North Carolina State Senate to ban commercial wind farms from the state’s western mountain ranges.
Also in this issue:
* The cost of solar power is coming in at more than three times the promised price in Kittitas County, Washington … and potentially more than seven times what was initially promised.
* Styrene, an organic compound used widely in food packaging and a variety of plastic products, has not been linked to human health harms and cannot be listed as a known carcinogen, a California Superior Court judge has ruled.
* The Oregon legislature reduced runaway renewable energy subsidies in an effort to help balance the state budget, but Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) vetoed the bill. Now the state may have to find an additional $50 million to pay for it.
* The National Association of Wheat Growers has withdrawn its support from the Waxman-Markey bill restricting carbon dioxide emissions, and other ag groups have opposed the measure as well, saying it imposes disproportionate economic hardship on U.S. farmers.
* Voters in Seattle defeated a proposal that would have imposed on them a 20 cent fee for each plastic or paper shopping bag they use.
